Windows 8 Upgrade Process

Planning on upgrading to Win 8 Pro tomorrow when it comes out. What's the best approach here? Do I uninstall Webroot, upgrade to Win 8, then reinstall?

Also -- is it necessary to run the native antimalware software that comes with Win 8? I don't run anything with Win 7, don't really think it's necessary. Ideas?

Thanks!
Terry

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Best answer by JimM26 October 2012, 19:17

It doesn't hurt to uninstall WSA first and reinstall when you're done, especially since the uninstallation and reinstallation processes are so quick and easy, but you shouldn't have to.

One of the things you'll want to do prior to upgrading to Windows 8 is to run Microsoft's Upgrade Assistant. You'll want to do that for a lot of reasons. It checks your hardware for Windows 8 compatiblity, and it will tell you which programs it's sure are compatible with Windows 8. This isn't an exhaustive list, and a lot of things that are actually compatible don't appear in the list that is generated. Microsoft talks about that here. But it does help you to know which ones Microsoft is positive about, so you have a little peace of mind about whatever shows up in the list.

For our part, at the moment, because Microsoft has not yet added WSA to the compatibility list the Upgrade Assistant checks against, WSA does not yet appear in the compatibility details area that the Upgrade Assistant generates. However, WSA is compatible with Windows 8, and you should not need to remove it prior to the upgrade. We have no preference either way as to whether or not you uninstall WSA first and reinstall it after the upgrade.

7 replies

Yes,you will want to uninstall wsa first,reboot,then install windows 8.And upon installing windows 8 and installing all the updates and rebooting,then you can install wsa again.be sure to have your key handy.You can choose to run the native windows defender and firewall along with wsa if you wish,but i dont see much sense in it.The windows firewall works really well with wsa,but the windows defender(which in windows 8 includes what was known as microsoft security essentials)is total garbage if you ask me.I am not big on testing results,but it's pretty damning that mse performs well on almost no test out there.My personal setup for win 7 which i plan on using on win8 once privatefirewall releases a fully compatable update is:WSA complete,Privatefirewall,and Ad muncher.

Hi Terry I would like to add that you can run both WSA and Windows Defender which is a full AV in Win 8 as superssjdan said if you wish to but when you install WSA it will automatically disable Windows Defender and again if you wish to run both you must remove the checkmark like in the picture to re-enable WD in Win 8. I tried both methods and all depends what the user wants to do. ;)

Right now,i have WIn8 up and running and am very much enjoying it as i continue to get used to it.For the moment i have WSA running along with the windows firewall( until Privatefirewall is updated )and windows defender disabled.System is definitely zippy.Win 8 interface will take some getting used to,but i have no problem with it and look forward to learning more as time goes on.

It doesn't hurt to uninstall WSA first and reinstall when you're done, especially since the uninstallation and reinstallation processes are so quick and easy, but you shouldn't have to.

One of the things you'll want to do prior to upgrading to Windows 8 is to run Microsoft's Upgrade Assistant. You'll want to do that for a lot of reasons. It checks your hardware for Windows 8 compatiblity, and it will tell you which programs it's sure are compatible with Windows 8. This isn't an exhaustive list, and a lot of things that are actually compatible don't appear in the list that is generated. Microsoft talks about that here. But it does help you to know which ones Microsoft is positive about, so you have a little peace of mind about whatever shows up in the list.

For our part, at the moment, because Microsoft has not yet added WSA to the compatibility list the Upgrade Assistant checks against, WSA does not yet appear in the compatibility details area that the Upgrade Assistant generates. However, WSA is compatible with Windows 8, and you should not need to remove it prior to the upgrade. We have no preference either way as to whether or not you uninstall WSA first and reinstall it after the upgrade.

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